Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Conservatives Running Fast and Far From Morgentaler

As I predicted 2 days ago, the Conservative government has already begun to run away from the appointment of Dr. Henry Morgentaler to the Order of Canada. Here's some quotes from today's Star.

Poor Dimitri, I guess he forgot that the advisory council does include the deputy minister of Canadian Heritage, Ms. Judith LaRocque and the Clerk of the Privy Council, the department that reports to Stephen Harper, Mr. Kevin Lynch.

"The Conservative Government is not involved in either deliberations or decisions with respect to which individuals are appointed to the Order of Canada," Dimitri Soudas, a spokesperson for Harper, said in a statement.

"Rideau Hall makes these appointments based on the recommendations of the Advisory Council for the Order which is chaired by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada," Soudas said.

"As far as I'm concerned it is indeed controversial," said Epp, who has a private member's bill before the House of Commons that would allow criminal charges to be laid in the death or injury of an unborn child when the child's mother is the victim of a crime.

Epp also questioned the objectivity of Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin as head of the Order of Canada advisory council. "Is she now totally out of impartiality because of the fact she has weighed into this? I am concerned about all of those things," he said

And form The Globe

Still, one veteran Conservative MP deviated from the script.

“I think it's a sorry day when they give that man the Order of Canada … He's not deserving of it. What has the man contributed to this nation?” asked Conservative MP Art Hanger. “Apart from providing a so-called service which I don't believe should be even offered in the nation, but is unfortunately, because we don't have a law governing the taking of life of the unborn.”